April 25 (SeeNews) - Serbia has signed a loan deal with Export-Import Bank of China (Exim Bank) for financing the construction of a motorway section linking Preljina to Pozega, part of European transport Corridor XI, Serbia's infrastructure ministry said on Thursday.
The 450 million euro ($501 million) project for the construction of the 30.9 km-long motorway section will be carried out by China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), the infrastructure ministry said in a statement.
No details about the Exim Bank loan were revealed in the statement but in March 2018, infrastructure minister Zorana Mihajlovic said Serbia's government hopes to sign a $523 million loan agreement to finance the construction of the motorway section.
"Preparations are underway on this section, the state has completed the land expropriation and has prepared the technical documentation, while campsites for workers are being built near Lucani. By signing a financial contract, conditions are set to start construction works," Mihajlovic said in the statement.
According to the government's plans, the projected Belgrade-Sarajevo motorway and European Corridor XI will cross at Pozega, while the future Morava Corridor motorway will link Corridor X to Corridor XI at Cacak, Mihajlovic added.
The Preljina-Pozega motorway is part of Corridor XI - a motorway corridor linking Italy's Bari to Romania's Bucharest via Montenegro's port of Bar and Serbia's Belgrade. Corridor X will connect Austria's Salzburg to the Greek Aegean port of Thessaloniki, passing through Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and North Macedonia.
($ = 0.897844 euro)